Scripture

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” Matthew 5:7

This is one of the most neglected heart traits in Kingdom-life today. Mercy describes much of the very nature of the Kingdom. Our lives entered the Kingdom through the forgiveness that mercy offered. It is His mercy that daily maintain my fellowship with Him. It is His mercy that provides for us. Mercy is the lifeblood of the Kingdom of God.

In the New Testament, this attitude of mercy is deeply connected to forgiveness. To love in the Kingdom, we MUST live a life of forgiving others. After He spoke of being merciful, He soon after taught them about prayer, saying we must forgive just as we have been forgiven! He then had the audacity to say that if we would not forgive others, our Father in Heaven would not forgive us. Mercy! We must learn to live in the atmosphere and attitude of mercy. To give forgiveness to another, especially when someone has deeply wounded or mistreated you, is divine! James, in his short epistle, said, “Mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:13).

And yet, we don’t live in mercy. We judge, we criticize, we live in unforgiveness, and we form opinions about people in our hearts. We are often like Olympic judges sitting on the sideline of life, passing out ratings on people’s lives and performances, saying who are the good ones and who are the bad ones, who are the winners and the losers. Mercy!

In the Old Testament, the word had a further, perhaps even richer, meaning. Listen to the words of Solomon:

“Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor” Proverbs 14:21

In this and many other Old Testament texts, the idea of mercy is taken beyond that of forgiveness into generosity and deep, heartfelt concern for the poor, the broken, and the needy of the world. Isn’t this the very nature of the Father? In His mercy towards us, He begins with absolute forgiveness, but He doesn’t stop there. He shows us tremendous generosity, care, and concern for every facet of our lives. He is truly merciful!

This life of mercy is found in His words,

“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you…But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for he is kind to ungrateful and evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:27-28, 35-36).

The Promise: We will receive–know mercy. We will know the depths of what it means to be forgiven. We will know firsthand how good, how kind, how generous, how merciful He is. Could it be that greater levels of our Father’s generosity will be released upon us as we live in mercy with others? Yes, a resounding yes!

Prayer: Lord, forgive us as we forgive others and show mercy to others. Turn our hearts to be merciful and generous to all those we encounter. Help us to fully understand your mercy and how great you are.